It is known to conduct fracturing or other stimulation procedures in a wellbore by isolating zones of interest, (or intervals within a zone), in the wellbore, using packers and the like, and subjecting the isolated zone to treatment fluids, including liquids and gases, at treatment pressures. In a typical fracturing procedure for a cased wellbore, for example, the casing of the well is perforated to admit oil and/or gas into the wellbore and fracturing fluid is then pumped into the wellbore and through the perforations into the formation. Such treatment opens and/or enlarges drainage channels in the formation, enhancing the producing ability of the well. For open holes that are not cased, stimulation is carried out directly in the zones or zone intervals. The fracturing fluid is recovered as flowback fluid from the well to be tested and treated before recycling or disposal.
In some forms of completion operations, after simulation, one or more bridge plugs remain in the well that isolate each stage or zone. Once fracturing operations have been completed, and before production operations can commence, the plugs or other isolation tools need to be drilled out, for example by using a drill bit on the end of a coil tubing unit.
The flowback fluid is directed to a testing system which monitors for quantity and type of returns, whether they be liquids, condensate, oil or gases. Large solids such as remnants of drilled out plugs and other debris are often entrained in the fluid produced from the wellbore. Such debris can plug and damage testing and other flowback equipment if not removed beforehand. Plugged flowback equipment can be very difficult to manage, and may necessitate a shut-down of the operation to clean out the flowback equipment of blocking debris. Accordingly, a plug or debris catcher is typically implemented upstream of the flowback equipment/components, which can include a manifold, valves, chokes, and tank vessels.
One solution, such as that provided by Cameron, a Schlumberger company, and depicted generally in FIG. 8, is to direct flowback fluids through a housing pipe containing a concentric internal screen with a plurality of orifices spaced about the tubular wall of the screen. The screen typically extends the length of the housing pipe and terminates at a closed end of the pipe, with an open opposite end for receiving flowback fluid. As the flowback fluid flows into the screen, large solids are contained therein while the fluid and smaller particulates are permitted to exit out of the orifices to an annular passage thereabout and flow downstream to an outlet pipe oriented generally orthogonally to the screen. Applicant has noted one characteristic with such a design is that the relatively stagnant orifices, other than the adjacent outlet pipe, have a tendency to become plugged by debris. As more orifices become plugged, the remaining available orifices can create a localized jetting action as fluid travels through, which can result in significant erosion and eventually compromise the wall of the equipment. Further, to accommodate the flow rate and progressive screen plugging, a large screen and surrounding pipe is provided, making the debris catching assembly unwieldy and the screens difficult to remove, clean, and replace due to their size. Additionally, orienting the outlet piping orthogonally to the screen results in a flow direction change and associated erosion.